Appalachian Trail hiker #885 models his LuxuryLite "StackPack" backpack a couple days prior to heading to Amicalola Falls State Park in Georgia to thru-hike the AT with his sister, Barb. (Photo: Kim Fatica)

Hiker #885 signed the register at Amicalola Falls. Standing under the arch with Hiker #884 at the Appalachian Trail Approach in Georgia, he called his presence at the approach “surreal”. This morning his daughter, Claire, and his wife, Jenny, posted photos on Facebook of a heartwarming and emotional send-off. Hiker 885’s face said it all as he hugged his son, Eric, before hitting the trail.

So his dream began to play out at 8:00 a.m. this morning, a real-life adventure Ray Hawley of Tampa will share with his sister, Barb Hansen. Mt. Katahdin is now just six months away.

Anyone who has hiked the AT understands the culture of thru-hikers, people who go the entire 2,200 miles without stopping. Serious thru-hikers know the entire trip takes careful planning. Ray spent months reading online journals, studying gear lists, taking training hikes. The intense focus he and his sister placed on the trip was a religious devotion that should serve to make the trip a most enjoyable one for both.

I told you about Ray back on February 10 and have been following his carefully-studied gear purchases for months, getting it first- and second-hand from him and his family. Ray did his homework, performing research on every piece of gear from his pack down to his boots. I was heading out with my Scout troop this past weekend, so I had to drop by Friday to give him my best wishes and snoop around his gear to compare notes.

I didn’t expect I’d come away with another article, but here it is and my discovery was nothing short of fascinating.

A partial snapshot of Ray's gearlist, where he had them stored in the house, and each item's weight in ounces. (Photo: Kim Fatica)

Ray had all of his essential gear laid out on the dining room table, boots and all. (God love you, Jenny.) When Ray first told me he had found a great ultralight backpack system, I was all ears. Sitting on the table with his boots, Leki carbon trekking poles, and his gear list were three shiny, black duffle bags.

“There it is,” Ray proclaimed proudly.

“Are you serious? This is it?” I managed to query in amazement. Emma “Grandma” Gatewood would be proud. She was the first woman to complete a thru-hike of the AT and she did it with a duffle bag and not much else. She later went back and did it two more times. Her amazing accomplishment brought her recognition as the person who sparked ultralight, minimalist backpacking.

So there it was on Jenny’s dining room table: a triple-stack of high-tech duffle bags (called “cylinders” by the manufacturer) on a simple adjustable frame. The LuxuryLite “StackPack” backpack was larger than life, no longer just a photo on a web page. I’d never seen one in person.

Best use of old plastic snack containers...storage jars. Ray is keeping his food in this jar, while other jars will contain clothing and things he needs to keep dry on the trail. (Photo: Kim Fatica)

Back in the 60s we’d call something like this “Space Age” and on Ray’s back it looked like he was going to be making “one small step for a man” in it.

A good number of you reading this will nod your head when I say most of us would be happy with a traditional nylon pack. My first pack in 1972 was canvas, an official Boy Scouts of America-issued pack with leather straps. We’ve come a long way, baby. (Love those references to the 60s.)

Empty, Ray’s StackPack weighed a featherweight 36 ounces.

He reached in to one of the cylinders and pulled out a large plastic see-through jar full of food. “Pretzel jar,” he explained, “perfect for food storage.”

The footlong jar with a seven-inch diameter and widemouth opening fit perfectly in the 18-by-9 black cylinders, with some room to spare. Jammed in his jar was the first few days worth of food that included flat tortilla bread, summer sausages, condiments and other carb-loaded foods. For the time being, Ray and Barb won’t be cooking. They’ll be able to get some cooked meals at certain towns along the trail.

Total weight of the loaded pack: just under 29 pounds. (Photo: Kim Fatica)

The three black, Space Age-looking cylinders combined will provide a little more than 3,400 cubic inches of storage, including Ray’s Big Agnes tent, poles, footprint and stakes. Fully loaded with his gear (and a pair of Crocs hanging off the back), the entire pack weighed in just under 29 pounds.

The StackPack is a well-conceived system that comes with a lifetime guarantee. LuxuryLite is a family-run business based in Lake Jackson, Texas and their products have received high praise from AT and other trekkers. To learn more about the LuxuryLite StackPack, check out their website.

In the meantime, I’m in Tampa, cheering for my friend and his sister to have a great adventure.

Happy trails, Ray and Barb. Can’t wait to see you again in October!

Follow Ray’s trail journal, with entries from Ray posted by his wife, Jenny, as he makes his way along the AT. He’ll be typing his entries in with his BlackBerry “Torch” cellular phone and sending them to Jenny every couple of days, or whenever he has a good signal.

About This Blog

Kim Fatica is a marketing professional and former Emmy Award-winning television photojournalist and operations manager originally from Cleveland, Ohio. He’s also a lifelong volunteer with the Boy Scouts of America, where he’s been involved with the program since he was a Cub Scout in 1970. He earned his Eagle Scout rank in 1976 and continued on in service as an adult leader, currently serving as an assistant scoutmaster for Troop 22 in Tampa.

He lived his dream of backpacking through the Sangre de Cristo mountain range with his son, Noah, at the Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimarron, New Mexico. The 12-day trek during the summer of 2012 took them on a memorable 80-mile journey that went through areas near the historic Santa Fe Trail.

Kim earned his undergraduate degree in Journalism and Mass Communications from Bowling Green State University and holds a master’s degree in Business Administration from the Florida Institute of Technology.